Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Of all of the many chores I do as a wife/mother, laundry is probably my most dreaded. Perhaps it is because it seems to be never-ending; there are always clothes to be washed. I have been the type to only do laundry once per week for that very reason: I hate it and couldn’t possibly bear the thought of doing laundry every day.

I should clarify that I don’t really hate laundry. I have no problems with sorting clothes, putting clothes into the washer and/or dryer, or even getting them out of the dryer. No, my problem is folding them. I do okay for the first 4-5 loads. After that, it’s all downhill. I fold laundry on my bed, so what usually happens is that any clothes that happen to get washed/dried after load 6 is left in the laundry basket until Wednesday, Thursday, or even Friday. By then, it’s slim pickin’s because we’ve picked through the basket, finding and wearing the necessary item of clothing. I’m usually left with a handful of stray socks, underwear, and a few shirts or shorts.

A couple of weeks ago, however, I decided to split my normal 8-9 loads of laundry that I completed on Saturday to 4 loads completed twice per week. I have chosen Tuesday and Saturday as my laundry days. It seems to be working well. In one day I can wash, dry, and fold all of the laundry without feeling overwhelmed or hopeless at the sight of huge mounds of clothes on my bed.

Putting the clothes away in the same day is another story. Every girl needs a dream, right?

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My new favorite old book is Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. I read it to Th this summer, and I absolutely love it! I haven’t read this book in a long time, and it has such a wonderful story of friendship, unselfish love, and loyalty.

Every spring, we get several (10+) spiders who make their home in the bushes along our front porch. In the past, they really crept me out, especially because they grew to such a large size. However, after reading this book, we really enjoy having these spiders welcome us home each day. As the spiders grew, they all left (or were perhaps killed) except one. This particular one has grown to be exceptionally large. We have spent many nights sitting on the porch watching her in her web. The boys especially like to examine her and her markings. I took some pictures of our pet “Charlotte” for you to see.

I went out to get the mail today and she wasn’t there. I’m not sure if she left to go lay her eggs somewhere (last year it was on the water spicket on the side of the house) or if something happened to her. Th hasn’t yet noticed she isn’t there. I hope she returns soon, especially because we didn’t get to say goodbye.